


Whatever It Takes

by ikuzonos



Series: Compensation for a Miracle [3]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Backstory, Gen, POV Second Person, headcanon heavy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 13:26:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9073855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikuzonos/pseuds/ikuzonos
Summary: Kaede Akamatsu was destined for glory, and everyone who knew her would agree.[WRITTEN BEFORE THE RELEASE OF NDRV3]





	

**Author's Note:**

> I was only planning to write a backstory fic for Tenko but honestly I might continue it on for several other of the v3 kids? We'll see!

The funeral is a quiet affair. 

You are eleven years old, and your mother has just died of a stroke. 

Your father stands behind you, his hand on your shoulder. Both of you are struggling not to cry, but only one of you is succeeding. 

The people there offer condolences, as if they knew her, as if they could ever understand how wonderful she was. 

You don't look anyone in the eyes, not even your Great Aunt Maiko. Your mother has died, and they act almost as if nothing has changed. 

After the services, your father takes you home. You don't go to school for the next couple days, as you take the time to come to terms with the fact that she is gone. 

She used to play piano, and you sit in front of the keys silently. Then, almost against your will, you begin to play. 

Your mother taught you the song when you were six, and it stuck with you. You remember every note perfectly, and tears run down your face as you go on with the song. 

When you finish, you can barely see, your vision so blurred. You turn your head, and your father is standing behind you, watching silently. 

You wait for him to yell. 

He signs you up for piano lessons. 

-

Your friends begin to call you ‘Piano Idiot.’

It doesn't bother you much, what's wrong with devoting your life to the art of music? Plus, they still hang out with you, even when all you'll talk about is scales. 

Even when you're the Piano Idiot, you're still Kaede, and your friends still love you. 

They mean the world to you, and you are so glad that you have them in your life. 

-

Your piano teacher teaches you an ingenious way to keep your hands clean for the piano. According to him, the piano is a sacred instrument, and must be respected at all costs. 

Before you can touch the piano, your hands must be shining, sparkling clean. 

Wash your hands, then take a damp tissue, and clean every nail until it is gleaming. Wash your hands once more, removing any remaining grime, and then you are ready to go. 

It takes you twenty minutes, but you feel true pride when your hands are deemed good enough for the piano. 

-

The TV is crackling in the background. 

You are dutifully completing your homework, and trying so hard not to pay attention to the screen, but it makes your stomach churn. 

There is a boy being interviewed, and people are comparing him to Mozart, to Beethoven, to Glen Gould. The reporter even says that he could be the next Kaede Akamatsu. 

Your teeth clench. 

Your father clicks off the TV, and rubs your shoulder. 

“It's okay,” he murmurs, “You're better than he'll ever be.”

Your stomach churns. You don't want to be forgotten. 

-

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

Your latest recital took the energy out of you, but you have to clean off your hands before you go to sleep. 

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

Just a little more, you tell yourself. You mustn't soil anything, your hands must shine. 

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

In the morning, the sink has a dry brown stain on it. 

-

School talent shows are an awful idea, you think. It brings out the worst in everyone. 

You have a rival for the sole music act. Airi Tsukuda, a snob at best and a bully at worst, constantly berates you for even trying to be in the show. 

You've always hated Airi. 

(In the end though, you win the part, and will go on as the only music act. You will be the star.)

-

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

You're going on in ten minutes, but your hands have to be  _ perfect.  _

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

As the only musical act in the talent show, people have high hopes for you, and you cannot disappoint.

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

You're thankful that the green room sinks were already dirty. 

-

It becomes a pattern in your life. Clean your hands before the recitals and after a performance. Rise above the others at any cost, be the absolute best that you can. You're fourteen when the schools down south consider scouting you. 

You want it, you want every ounce of it. You don't need the money, all you want is to be known as the very best. 

‘Whatever it takes’ becomes your mantra, and you repeat it to yourself every morning when you wake up, and every night when you go to sleep. 

-

You’re fifteen and a half when the world ends. Or at least, when a large terrorist organization attacks in Kyoto. It spreads through Japan little by little, some ways into China, and there’s talk of the ‘despair’ going overseas.

Not like it matters to you. It never reaches Aomori, and your life doesn’t change. The competition becomes fiercer, but you fight all the harder for it. You have to outlast, you want to be the last one standing. You crave the recognition, you’ll do anything if it means that the crowd will cheer for you and you alone. No sabotage is going too far, not if it means that you win.

Because you have to win. It’s not so much for your mother’s sake anymore, you think it’s all for yourself, and you’re okay with that. A tiny part of you wonders if it was ever to make your mother proud. That’s not the point, though. There’s nothing wrong with doing something for your own gain.

The entire world will one day be at your fingertips, that’s what your teacher tells you. He believes in you so much, and besides your father and friends, he’s the most supportive person in your life when it comes to this dream. With all these people at your side, nothing can go wrong, can it? All you have to do is obliterate everyone in your path, and you’ll reach  _ greatness. _

Winning is your destiny, you’re absolutely certain of it. And you’ll use every weapon at your disposal to achieve your dream.

-

You open your door one morning, when Atsuko shoves a newspaper in your face.

“Good morning to you too,” you mumble.

Atsuko shakes the newspaper, “Kaede-chan! Have you not seen this?”

You reply, “Why would I? I don’t read the news.”

Atsuko sniffles, and you take the paper from her.

The front page article goes into detail about a recent murder, this one of a violinist who was up for an award in her school. There’s a picture of her smiling next to the article. The murder has been officially recognized as a serial killing. 

You’ve heard about these types of killings before. A few forums began calling this killer the Musical Menace, due to the killer’s tendency to go after musicians.

Atsuko adds, “Look at the last paragraphs.”

You skim the paper quickly.

**Many people are speculating online that Kaede Akamatsu, prodigy pianist, could be the next victim of this killer. However, police have issued a statement that the young student is in no danger.**

**“We’ve got eyes all over this city, pal,” said Homicide Detective Keisuke Itonokogiri, “And we’ll do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of all our citizens.”**

Atsuko cries, “You could be next!”

You say, “I’ll be fine, Atsuko-chan.”

She shakes her head, “No, I’ve made up my mind! I’m going to stay with you every step from here to the school, I won’t let you be alone! I’m going to protect you!”

“What about during class? We’re not in the same one.”

She replies, “Got that taken care of. Rin-chan already said she’ll keep an eye on you, and we’ll both make sure you’re okay during breaks.”

You blink, “She said that?”

Atsuko says, “We care about you. You’re our friends, and we’ll do everything in our power to make sure that nothing happens to you. Now come on, we’re going to miss the train!”

You drop the newspaper, and race after her.

-

True to their word, Atsuko and Rin follow you around. Whenever they’re not by your side, you’re at home, and then your father won’t let you out of his sight.

Their paranoia is unfounded, you’re certain of it. All you want to do is play piano, and get ahead. You know that you won’t be the target, no matter what the tabloids say.

The first that that you’re alone in weeks, is when you realize that you’ve lost them in the crowd, and you take that opportunity to slip into the bathroom.

You wash your face, and then scrub your nails, because you haven’t done that in too long, and your hands feel so unclean.

But your thoughts spiral out of control from there, and you’re so lost in your own mind, that you don’t even notice what’s happening to you until you’re on the floor in one of the stalls, a pocket knife sticking out of your thigh.

The stall is locked, and nobody else is around, but there’s blood everywhere, and you  _ scream. _ Desperately, you try to pull the knife out, but your sweaty hands can’t maintain a grip on the handle.

Atsuko and Rin find you quickly, they crawl under the stall, and shake you, begging you to explain what happened. Rin calls an ambulance, while Atsuko calls the police. All you can think about is how much it  _ hurts. _

-

“Fears not so unfounded now, huh?”

You’ll be out of the hospital soon, the wound was luckily small, and you’re recovering quickly. But your father is so scared now, so scared that something else will happen to you.

The media has already jumped on the premonition that you were assaulted by the Musical Menace, and only just escaped with your life. When they try to ask you to recall what happened, you come up empty. Your head is a mess, and all you can think about is the pain of the knife entering your thigh from above.

You don’t go back to school after that. Your father insists on homeschooling you, saying that it’s far too dangerous for you to go anywhere alone again. You know he’s worried, but it begins to irritate you. How can you achieve your dreams, how can you become renowned, if you’re locked in your bedroom for the rest of your life?

-

A fallen newspaper article, covered in muddy footprints, details the death of Gou Shiba, an elderly pianist who had died in his sleep. While the police initially tried to make a connection to the Musical Menace, the charge was dropped, due to lack of evidence. The seventy-nine year old man had no enemies, and seems to have peacefully passed.

(His killer sighs in relief.)

-

Your father still lets you attend your recitals, but only because you beg. All you want is to be known for this, and he won’t let your dream die in your dreary little house.

Of course, you win. It’s no surprise there, and you take your bow at centre stage. But later, when you shake hands with the runner-up, you discover that you won by only one point. 

He congratulates you, but you know that his words are hollow. You know he wishes that he had one instead of you, and it makes you sick. Can’t he see that you’re better? Can’t he see that you are above all else?

_ Whatever it takes. _

You keep your mantra close, and that night, you don’t hesitate. 

(You will not lose.)

-

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

You went a little overboard at your performance, and now your hands are a mess. It may be three in the morning, but you don’t have much of a choice.

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

Soon, you’ll be able to play the piano again, but now you have to clean your fingers until they’re raw. There’s so much stuck under your nails, and you can’t risk contaminating the piano.

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

It’s amazing, your piano teacher’s technique for removing grime from under your nails works wonders for removing blood too.

-

Being a serial killer is a tough business, and even with your ingenious idea to stab yourself in the thigh and fake an attack, the police catch up to you eventually.

The sirens close in on you, the morning after the best performance you ever did. Your victim lies dead as a doornail, impaled on a decorative sword in her own foyer.

(Serves her right for trying to steal your honour.)

In the detention centre, you get visits from your father and your friends, who insist that they’ll find a way to get you out.

Their faces when you tell that that you’re guilty of all forty-seven murder charges is priceless.

You think your piano teacher would have come to see you too, to do everything in his power to return his prized student to glory, if you hadn’t killed him last year.

-

The first lawyer you meet must be fresh out of law school, and not yet disillusioned by the system. Her bright yellow coat and fiery red hair matches her spirit, and you almost wish that you were innocent.

You tell her the truth. There’s no point in lying, not when you’ve already made a formal confession.

When she hears it, she backs away, and quietly confers with another lawyer in a red suit. After their discussion, the yellow one turns to you, and states that at this point in time, they don’t believe that their agency should be representing you.

You tell her that you don’t care.

The next lawyer you meet is less spunky, and seems hardened with age and experience. His blue suit looks more professional, but his spiky hair is just as ridiculous.

Every couple of minutes, he looks over his shoulder, and at a girl dressed as a magician that is standing outside the door.

Eventually, when you’ve finished your story, he says the same thing that the others lawyers did.

The final lawyer you meet is a public defender that has been assigned to you by the prefecture. You think that she used to be an artist, from the way that she tries to paint you into a troubled child, shaken by your mother’s untimely death.

She’s wrong, though, and you know that you’re going to be convicted on all forty-seven of those charges, forty-eight if you decide to tell them about Gou Shiba.

-

The day before your trial, a man with a snow white suit, and silver hair to match, meets with you. He passes you a booklet, and tells you why he’s here.

Instead of landing on death row at age seventeen, you can go to a school he has founded, known as the Gifted Inmates Academy. You are the tenth person he has scouted for this school. 

You shake. Your hands, so filthy and unclean, clutch the paper so hard that it tears. You shouldn’t say yes, you don’t need a deal.

Your mouth betrays you.

-

Your eyes open blearily, and you find yourself  a desk. Everything hurts, and your mind is foggy.

You can hardly recall a thing, but somehow, that’s okay.

A note on the desk tells you to go to the gymnasium posthaste.

You take off, not wanting to be late, and tear through the empty hallways. But you quickly stop in the bathroom, grab a tissue from a dispenser, and clean your disgusting nails.

(Scrub, scrub, scrub)

Old habits die hard, you think, as you throw the tissue away, and run off to find the gym. You don’t know why you’re here, or why your memory is so fuzzy all of a sudden, but you know that you’ll find out the truth.

Whatever it takes.


End file.
